EL PAÍS offers the América Futura section for free for its daily and global informative contribution on sustainable development. If you want to support our journalism, subscribe here. In Mexico, around 9 million people do not have access to water. In the capital alone, 26% of its inhabitants do not receive enough. And although recent rains have favored the increase in the levels of some of the country's main dams, the problem is far from being solved. While water stress worsens throughout the world, possible solutions are emerging, some of which, in addition to offering a way out for an increasingly thirsty country, are positioned as sustainable businesses that can generate income and jobs. These are three outstanding proposals from Mexican entrepreneurs whose cases are included in the book 10 Sustainable Water Entrepreneurs, by LID Editorial, the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Disruptivo.
Growing indoors uses 90% less water
Ship containers discarded as garbage became a valuable material for Jorge Lizardi and Juan Gabriel Succar. Since 2019, the entrepreneurs have been using them as raw material to create vertical agriculture farms called Huvsters. “We put a vertical hydroponic system on them and equip them with automated systems to control temperature, humidity, ventilation, lighting, irrigation and nutrition for plants,” says Juan Succar, co-founder of Verde Compacto. For years, the partners ventured into business to make the Mexican countryside more sustainable. They experimented with different eco-technologies: among other things, they tried to generate gas from biodigesters using organic waste and designed cogeneration plants for energy from solar panels. “We realized the enormous areas of opportunity in the distribution of food, water and waste,” adds Succar.The exterior of the 'Huvsters'.INNOVAQUASuddenly, they discovered indoor vertical farming, a solution that was being implemented in other parts of the world. This method consists of sowing inside warehouses, buildings and ship containers, controlling the entire environment to maximize productivity and avoid wasting water.“Controlling the environment allows exponential productivity, producing all year round regardless of the weather or pests,” says Juan Succar. These indoor farms can be installed anywhere. “The containers transformed into farms are plug and play, ready to assemble and produce anywhere in the world,” he adds.Their first client was a resort in French Polynesia, an archipelago that imports much of the food it requires. Verde Compacto sold them containers so that they could be self-sufficient in vegetable production. They also sell them to farmers to diversify their production and to universities, which use them for research and development.Plants inside one of the farm containers.Verde CompactoThe productivity of the crops is notable: in 30 square meters, the equivalent of 5,000 square meters per year can be produced in traditional agriculture. In addition, in this environment they consume less water than usual. “Lettuces use only one and a half liters per unit, compared to the twelve liters needed in open fields,” explains Succar.Shortage and greater awareness about water consumption increased demand, although the initial investment is high. In addition, the profitability is significant: 40-foot containers cost around two million pesos and can recover the investment in a range of two to five years, depending on the client's business model, according to the entrepreneur.Verde Compacto grows in sales at a rate of 15% annually. By 2029, the entrepreneurs expect the vertical agriculture industry in the country to be worth more than 500 million dollars. “We constantly reinvest in research and development to continue improving the technology,” adds Juan Succar. Using the Verde Compacto methodology, some 200 varieties of vegetables, different types of mushrooms and livestock fodder are produced.
The goose that lays the golden eggs of Tubepol
Improving Mexico’s water infrastructure is a necessity that Tubepol saw as an opportunity. More than 70% of the country’s pipes have already exceeded their useful life, which makes them prone to breakdowns. “They have been operating for more than 60 years when a concrete pipe has 25 to 30 years of useful life,” says Adrian Cordero, co-founder of Tubepol, along with his partner Jorge Perez. Part of the work that the company does is to diagnose the networks through inspection cameras that enter the pipes and give a real-time image of their condition. “The country’s infrastructure has many leaks through which 40% to 50% of the water is lost,” explains Cordero. The worsening water shortage makes a solution to this situation more urgent. The Mexico City pipe network is 80,000 kilometers long. Renewing them would be impossible if the company had to open the concrete, extract them and replace them. But Tubepol has developed a technology that allows a new pipe to be created inside an existing pipeline without the need for excavation. In addition to being a faster process, it is less invasive, and promises a durability of up to 50 more years, he warns.One of the pipes before being inflated.TUBEPOLSince its founding in 2012, Tubepol has faced various challenges, including the initial acceptance of its technology and the trust it received. “At first, we started with very small projects,” admits Adrián Cordero. Perseverance paid off. Growth was slow in the first few years, but from the third year onwards, they grew by an average of 30% annually. To date, they have rehabilitated approximately 150 kilometers of pipes, most of them for government projects, at local and federal level.
One of the inflatable pipes during installation.TUBEPOLThe technology is based on a flexible sleeve, made of resin and felt, which is inflated inside the damaged pipe, creating a new pipe inside the old one. “The resins are polymerized with a heat source or ultraviolet light, and become the new pipe,” he describes. In addition, the materials are manufactured locally, at a lower cost and with faster attention.“Drought is a very important issue. If the Government has already treated, captured, cleaned and pumped a certain amount of water, but 40%-60% is lost in the networks, it is serious,” says Cordero. This is how Tubepol hopes to make a tangible difference with its innovative technology and a focus on sustainability in the conservation of this resource.
Making water out of air
Mauricio Bonilla and his two partners, Gastón Islas and Isaac Garza, were wondering how to solve the lack of access to water when, during their research, they discovered a machine outside of Mexico that condenses water from the relative humidity of the environment. “More than 72% of the water from the 14.4 billion cubic meters that fall in Mexico evaporates. Only 30% is used,” says Mauricio Bonilla, co-founder of Innovaqua. In addition, he explains, the water that evaporates from all aquifers is not used either, regardless of whether they are fresh or salt water. “This technology makes the most of the water cycle,” he adds.The facility where the condensation devices are produced. However, INNOVAQUAY did not just adopt the technology: the three entrepreneurs had to adapt and improve it. The first challenge they faced was to find out which cities in the country generate the relative humidity necessary for Nube, their condensation device, to be able to generate water. The machine required 35% relative humidity in the air to generate nine liters of water per day. From this they concluded that the technology, which is apparently an electric water dispenser, cannot work in places such as, for example, the State of Zacatecas, where humidity fluctuates around 20%. This analysis revealed, in fact, that around a third of the country could not adopt this technology. In the first years they made other adaptations, such as including a cooling system, reducing the noise of the device and turning it into a sustainable product. “We have multiple patents on improvements we have made to the machine, focusing on energy and sound efficiency,” explains Bonilla. Nube is currently present in 52 countries, which represents a challenge for the company, as it must guarantee that the machine will work in various climatic conditions. “To open in a new city, we need a local representative to use the machine and validate its operation for at least a year,” he explains.
Condensation devices called 'Cloud'.INNOVAQUACustomer service is another fundamental pillar. “One of our biggest challenges is to maintain a uniform response capacity in the markets in which we operate,” he explains. That includes managing distribution logistics and technical support in different time zones.The equipment and spare parts are sent from their plant in Monterrey. To resolve technical issues, they use video tutorials, representatives around the region, and a call center that handles 11 languages. In the last two years, their sales have increased between 30% and 40% per year.Although the initial investment for equipment that produces 30 liters per day is $1,950, it is an expense that is justified, says the businessman, because in the end it reduces the water footprint and brings water to places where it is a scarce resource.